2 Chronicles 3

Solomon Builds the Temple

1So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah#3:1 Hebrew reads Ornan, a variant spelling of Araunah; compare 2 Sam 24:16. the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. 2The construction began in midspring,#3:2 Hebrew on the second [day] of the second month. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in April or May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.

3These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement).#3:3a The “old standard of measurement” was a cubit equal to 18 inches [46 centimeters]. The new standard was a cubit of approximately 21 inches [53 centimeters]. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.#3:3b Hebrew 60 cubits [27.6 meters] long and 20 cubits [9.2 meters] wide. 4The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet#3:4a Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; also in 3:8, 11, 13. wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet#3:4b As in some Greek and Syriac manuscripts, which read 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; Hebrew reads 120 [cubits], which is 180 feet or 55 meters. high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

5He paneled the main room of the Temple with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and chains. 6He decorated the walls of the Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold from the land of Parvaim. 7He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the Temple with gold, and he carved figures of cherubim on the walls.

8He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide, corresponding to the width of the Temple, and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with 23 tons#3:8 Hebrew 600 talents [20.4 metric tons]. of fine gold. 9The gold nails that were used weighed 20 ounces#3:9 Hebrew 50 shekels [570 grams]. each. He also overlaid the walls of the upper rooms with gold.

10He made two figures shaped like cherubim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place. 11The total wingspan of the two cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was 7-1/2 feet#3:11 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; also in 3:11b, 12, 15. long, and it touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also 7-1/2 feet long, touched one of the wings of the second figure. 12In the same way, the second figure had one wing 7-1/2 feet long that touched the opposite wall. The other wing, also 7-1/2 feet long, touched the wing of the first figure. 13So the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced out toward the main room of the Temple.

14Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim.

15For the front of the Temple, he made two pillars that were 27 feet#3:15 As in Syriac version (see also 1 Kgs 7:15; 2 Kgs 25:17; Jer 52:21), which reads 18 cubits [8.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 35 cubits, which is 52.5 feet or 16.5 meters. tall, each topped by a capital extending upward another 7-1/2 feet. 16He made a network of interwoven chains#3:16 Hebrew He made chains in the inner sanctuary. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. and used them to decorate the tops of the pillars. He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and attached them to the chains. 17Then he set up the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one to the south of the entrance and the other to the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.#3:17 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.”

Currently Selected:

2 Chronicles 3: NLT

Highlight

Copy

Compare

Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in

For more information about the NLT:

Learn More About New Living Translation

II Chronicles 3

Solomon Builds the Temple

1Now #1 Kin. 6:1Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at #Gen. 22:2–14Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of #1 Chr. 21:18; 22:1Ornan the Jebusite. 2And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

3This is the foundation #1 Kin. 6:2; 1 Chr. 28:11–19which Solomon laid for building the house of God: The length was sixty cubits (by cubits according to the former measure) and the width twenty cubits. 4And the #1 Kin. 6:3; 1 Chr. 28:11vestibule that was in front of the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5#1 Kin. 6:17The larger room he #1 Kin. 6:15; Jer. 22:14paneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. 6And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7He also overlaid the house—the beams and doorposts, its walls and doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8And he made the #Ex. 26:33; 1 Kin. 6:16Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. 9The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper #1 Chr. 28:11area with gold. 10#Ex. 25:18–20; 1 Kin. 6:23–28In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim, fashioned by carving, and overlaid them with gold. 11The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub; 12one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub. 13The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward. 14And he made the #Ex. 26:31; Matt. 27:51; Heb. 9:3veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

15Also he made in front of the temple #1 Kin. 7:15–20; Jer. 52:21two pillars thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made #1 Kin. 7:20one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17Then he #1 Kin. 7:21set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.

Learn More About New King James Version